WarnerMedia Lays Off Most Of DC Universe's Staff Along With DC Comics Editor-In-Chief Bob Harris

WarnerMedia Lays Off Most Of DC Universe's Staff Along With DC Comics Editor-In-Chief Bob Harris

DC Universe's fate has been sealed with a series of lay-offs, while there are also big changes taking place behind the scenes of DC Comics. As one insider puts it, the company's streaming service is "DOA."

By JoshWilding - Aug 11, 2020 02:08 AM EST
Filed Under: DC Comics
Source: The Hollywood Reporter

The Hollywood Reporter reveals that WarnerMedia has made a series of huge lay-offs at DC, almost all of which are of high-level figures in the company.

On the comic side, around a third of DC's editorial staff are gone, including Editor-in-Chief Bob Harris, Joining him are senior VP of publishing strategy and support services Hank Kanalz, VP of marketing and creative services Jonah Weiland, VP global publishing initiatives and digital strategy Bobbie Chase, senior story editor Brian Cunningham, and executive editor Mark Doyle.

The latter oversaw the rollout of DC's "Black Label" graphic novels, and it's said that Jim Lee remains CCO. How DC Comics will now be reshaped in the wake of these lay-offs is unclear. 

The trade also confirms that the majority of DC Universe's staff are now no longer with the company, a move they say has been expected ever since the launch of streaming service HBO Max. One source tells them, "DC Universe was DOA as soon as the AT&T merger happened."

There are other unfortunate lay-offs, including DC Direct, the merchandise and collectibles manufacturer which has been providing fans with products for the past 22 years now. 

We'll keep you guys updated, but this comes at an awkward time for DC seeing as DC FanDome is right around the corner. It's doubtful the company's future will be addressed there, though. 

ABSOLUTE SUPERMAN #1 Preview Reimagines Krypton And The Man Of Tomorrow's Mother Lara Lor-Van
Related:

ABSOLUTE SUPERMAN #1 Preview Reimagines Krypton And The Man Of Tomorrow's Mother Lara Lor-Van

DC Comics Announces BATMAN: HUSH 2, Vertigo's Return, JUSTICE LEAGUE VS. GODZILLA VS. KONG 2, And More
Recommended For You:

DC Comics Announces BATMAN: HUSH 2, Vertigo's Return, JUSTICE LEAGUE VS. GODZILLA VS. KONG 2, And More

DISCLAIMER: As a user generated site and platform, ComicBookMovie.com is protected under the DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act) and "Safe Harbor" provisions.

This post was submitted by a user who has agreed to our Terms of Service and Community Guidelines. ComicBookMovie.com will disable users who knowingly commit plagiarism, piracy, trademark or copyright infringement. Please CONTACT US for expeditious removal of copyrighted/trademarked content. CLICK HERE to learn more about our copyright and trademark policies.

Note that ComicBookMovie.com, and/or the user who contributed this post, may earn commissions or revenue through clicks or purchases made through any third-party links contained within the content above.

1 2
Spawnnn
Spawnnn - 8/11/2020, 2:40 AM
I hope the DCU shows will continue at HBO Max, they are pretty much the best TV-CB-content out there.
Darkknight2149
Darkknight2149 - 8/11/2020, 4:12 AM
@Spawnnn -
Or at least keep it around as a comic book service if they aren't going to add comics to HBO Max.
MikeyL
MikeyL - 8/11/2020, 2:41 AM
As sad as it is that the products might be affected, it’s best to remember that these are actual people with lives and families being forced out of work. It’s a horrible shame it’s happening
GothamSon
GothamSon - 8/11/2020, 3:44 AM
@MikeyL - Ironically, the bloodbath among the top ranks (CFO's etc) means that they will get a big corporate payday when they leave. Those lower down the ranks, nothing.
FearTheLiving
FearTheLiving - 8/11/2020, 2:51 AM
Sad to hear, hope the people effected are able to find work.
CheeseMaker
CheeseMaker - 8/11/2020, 3:02 AM
Comics publishers seem to be struggling a lot these days...I guess the industry as we know it will change forever
Kumkani
Kumkani - 8/11/2020, 3:09 AM
Ain't that some shit. That sucks.
SwampThing
SwampThing - 8/11/2020, 3:12 AM
Mainstream superhero comics are on their way out. They're going to become even more niche and change in order to survive. DC Comics published my favorite comics but most of them are decades-old by now so I gotta admit this doesn't come as a surprise to me. The characters will probably live on in series, movies & videogames with some comics published here and there.
CheeseMaker
CheeseMaker - 8/11/2020, 3:36 AM
@SwampThing - They will be more predominant in the showbizz
WackyBantha
WackyBantha - 8/11/2020, 3:21 AM
Doomsday8888
Doomsday8888 - 8/11/2020, 3:40 AM
I wanted Bob Harras gone from DC for so long.

But not like this.


Not like this.
marvel72
marvel72 - 8/11/2020, 3:41 AM
Swamp Thing and Doom Patrol are the only two good DC shows,everything else is pretty piss poor.
GothamSon
GothamSon - 8/11/2020, 3:42 AM
As a life-long DC fan, am I surprised? No. WB & DC have been making bad decision after bad decision all decade.

The 'streaming wars' is essentially a sea-change. I'll still pay for physical media going forward, like collector's blu-rays and graphic novels, but consumers seem to want digital content only. It's just easier.

Also, coronavirus was the straw that broke the camel's back. Of course massive layoffs were coming. This happening right before DC's big event is not a good look. I hope it encourages the execs and creatives in charge to make better decisions going forward, but given their track records, I'm not holding my breath.
Having said that, I think HBO Max is one of the only rival services strong enough to hold their own against Disney+ and Netflix.
tmp3
tmp3 - 8/11/2020, 3:46 AM
Really unfortunate this is happening, a huge reason is because of AT&T's large amount of debt accumulated. One of the many, many downsides to acquisitions of this scale.
dmac3232
dmac3232 - 8/11/2020, 7:12 AM
@tmp3 - This is absolutely a huge factor. I work for Turner in Atlanta, which is a big part of Warner Media's outfit with news, sports and entertainment, and we've been expecting something along these lines ever since we were acquired. The new boss made an announcement the other day including a handful of major executive layoffs at Warner Media as well. More will surely be coming.

Even though it sounds like we're going to be relatively unscathed, they're still doing stuff like selling CNN Center downtown, where they've been headquartered since the 1980s. We're also expecting them to gut our benefits package to some degree, which is easily the most generous of any place I've ever worked and a huge reason why I took this job in the 1st place. That's the frightening thing about being a huge company swallowed by an even larger company: You truly are just a number on a spread sheet.

On the bright side for consumers, this dude's background is with Hulu, and he's made no secret of the fact that HBO Max is the big focal point moving forward. The potential there is enormous, and if he's any good he could be able to fully realize that. You'd think that DC properties would be a major, major part of that, especially if you look at all the success Disney has had with Marvel.
tmp3
tmp3 - 8/11/2020, 7:20 AM
@dmac3232 - Oh man, that sucks to hear about you being caught in the turmoil of all of this, but happy that your branch isn’t severely affected. Yeah, acquisitions of this scale are very scary, but anti-trust laws in America are anything but effective.
I think Kilar has a good vision for WB, he got the head of HBO to be in charge of Max which is a great idea, but AT&T’s decision making that led to these lay-offs is really mind-numbing. Bungling Max’s launch this much, investing so much into a failing enterprise like DirecTV. What’s the general consensus on Stankey over there?
dmac3232
dmac3232 - 8/11/2020, 7:49 AM
@tmp3 - It's kind of crazy, I've never worked for a company even close to this size so somebody like that is so, so many layers removed from where we are, a small unit within a smaller division in one corner at Turner, which in turn was only part of an even larger media conglomerate. The previous guy, Stephenson, was just some dude we got quarterly emails from about how great everything was.

So to be frank, I don't really have much of a clue. I will say that up until this, I've never worked at a place that felt like it took care of you like Turner does. (For example, my previous job gave us grocery store gift cards as bonuses, and we were happy to have them. Here they give you actual money based on Warner Media's overall performance for the year, so we're obviously hoping that continues, among a handful of other benefits.)

We were hoping that this would bring some stability and actually benefit in the long run, and it obviously very well still could given that it only just happened. You're talking about thousands and thousands of people, and even under the very best circumstances there will be casualties with a transaction of this magnitude. But certainly it brings into stark relief the meat grinder that is corporate capitalism. You really are just a number.
BuzzKillington
BuzzKillington - 8/11/2020, 3:52 AM
"DC Universe was DOA as soon as the AT&T merger happened."

globaltravels
globaltravels - 8/11/2020, 3:58 AM
Surely the DC Universe crew can just scoot on over to HBO Max, right?
tmp3
tmp3 - 8/11/2020, 4:01 AM
@globaltravels - No, there'd be a lot of redundancies because most of those job positions over-lap as they're both streaming services. They won't need twice as many programmers for the same service.
DoubleD
DoubleD - 8/11/2020, 4:01 AM
We all saw this coming when AT@T bought WB/DC it would be bad news for DC fans.
Roodi
Roodi - 8/11/2020, 4:02 AM
Oh look, another merger no one bitched about because it wasn't chastising Disney.
tmp3
tmp3 - 8/11/2020, 4:06 AM
@Roodi - It was an acquisition, not a merger, and a lot of people expressed concern over it. Also, Disney buying Fox had a shit-ton of negative consequences too; Fox was pretty much stripped for parts.
DoubleD
DoubleD - 8/11/2020, 4:12 AM
@tmp3 - But he is right a lot of people gave Disney a very hard time. Acquisitions are much worst then mergers. AT@T don't give sh!t about DC superheroes.
tmp3
tmp3 - 8/11/2020, 4:18 AM
@DoubleD - AT&T buying WB was a terrible thing, companies shouldn't be absorbing other companies at such an insane magnitude. No-one was really pro-AT&T buy-out though, maybe Battabing was idk, while this site loved the Fox/Disney acquisition
DoubleD
DoubleD - 8/11/2020, 5:32 AM
@tmp3 - Marvel fans loved the Disney acquisition because their in the movie studio and family entertainment business. AT@T is in the telecom business.
DoubleD
DoubleD - 8/11/2020, 5:39 AM
@tmp3 - ALSO this why Marvel fans wanted Verizon to lose because whats happening to DC today would of happened to them to.
Krav
Krav - 8/11/2020, 4:10 AM
seems like AT&T is getting their sh!t together and doin what needed to be done at the WB, something we fans really needed , as a comic reader i hope things don't change a lot creatively cause its pretty decent now days , and as a movie watcher i'm glad they have a shomewhat normal slate for the upcoming years , would be cool it conneceted a little bit tho , but its so sad for the ppl that's works there to lose thier job in times like these i hope they bounce back quick.
DoubleD
DoubleD - 8/11/2020, 4:41 AM
@Krav - All the DC movies on the drawing board just got wiped out except for the ones that actually started filming.
tmp3
tmp3 - 8/11/2020, 4:25 AM
Doing this right before FanDome seems [frick]ed
DoubleD
DoubleD - 8/11/2020, 4:25 AM
There goes all the DC Superhero movies out the window except for the ones in actual production.
GreedoSarducci
GreedoSarducci - 8/11/2020, 4:42 AM
The DC Fail Train keeps on chuggin'.
1 2
View Recorder